Lefebvre drives in four for Fitchburg State

The Fitchburg State University baseball team rolled over Rivier University, 18-2, in non-conference action Tuesday evening in Nashua, New Hampshire.

The Falcons erupted for eight runs in the top of the second inning as freshman Matthew Pingitore plated senior Mike St. John and junior Andrew Mooney with a fielder's choice and a throwing miscue before newcomer Brandon Lefebvre, junior Sean Maki and freshman Brennan Cuddahy added run-scoring base hits for the 8-0 advantage.

Rivier responded with a run in the bottom half when senior Adam Arkell singled, moved to third on a groundout and scored following a sacrifice fly to right off the bat of freshman Jamie Brigham to make the score 8-1 after two innings of play.

Fitchburg State (8-14, 1-3 MASCAC) upped its margin to 14-1 in the top of the third as Lefebvre doubled in senior Nathan Littman and freshman Joshua Macomber, while sophomore Noah Milliard brought home Mooney and Cuddahy later in the stanza with a double down the right-field line.

The Falcons extended their lead in the top of the seventh when newcomer Timothy Horton walked, advanced to second and third on a hit-by-pitch and a fielding miscue before classmate Brendan O'Flaherty drew a bases-loaded walk to score Horton for the 15-1 lead.

The Raiders (1-16, 0-4 GNAC) cut into the deficit in the bottom of the seventh as freshman Eric Maxfield was hit by a pitch, moved to third on base hit by classmate Brennan Reeves and scored on a ground ball to third by Brendan Sullivan, resulting in the 18-2 final.

Advertisement

The Falcons were led by Lefebvre, who went 2 for 4 at the dish with a double, two runs scored and four RBIs, while Milliard added a 3-for-4 effort at the plate, including two doubles, one run scored and a pair of RBIs.

For Rivier, sophomore Brett Iannazzo finished 2 for 4, while Reeves, Maxfield, Arkell and junior Jonathan De La Cruz added one hit each for the Raiders.

On the bump, sophomore Evan Meleedy earned the win for the Falcons, allowing just one walk with a pair of strikeouts in two innings of relief, while newcomer Alex DiVito took the loss for the Raiders, yielding 13 runs (10 earned) on five hits with three punchouts in 2 1/3 innings of work.

Fitchburg State returns to action Wednesday as it hosts Keene State College for a contest starting at 3:30 p.m. Rivier will host UMaine-Presque Isle Friday at 11:30 a.m.